ANAHEIM — Defenseman Korbinian Holzer skated from his usual spot near the blue line toward the opposing net midway through the Ducks’ season finale Friday against the Kings at Honda Center. Only one person on the ice paid attention to him. Everyone else was focused on Max Jones, Holzer’s teammate.

Jones skated past the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and toward the net from the right wing, and then he slipped a pass to the left wing to Holzer, who had cut unnoticed behind a puck-focused Dustin Brown. Holzer couldn’t have missed the net if he tried, scoring his first goal in more than two years.

Holzer and Jones embraced in celebration behind the net, smiling broadly as a sellout crowd of 17,306 cheered the go-ahead goal in the Ducks’ eventual 5-2 victory over the Kings. Jones seemed almost as excited as Holzer, who hadn’t scored a goal since April 2, 2017.

To be accurate, Holzer did score twice in 12 games with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL before the Ducks recalled him Feb. 25. Holzer was in the minors to tune up his game after sitting out the first 42 games of the NHL season because of offseason wrist surgery.

“I kind of still know how to do it,” Holzer said, laughing. “Jones made a great play. He gets most of the credit. I just had to put it in the open net. I slid down (from the perimeter) and, luckily, he found me. It feels good in the last game to get a goal and get rid of the doughnut on the stat sheet.”

Holzer has five goals and 23 points in 157 career games in the NHL, including three goals and 14 points in 99 contests with the Ducks. The 31-year-old native of Munich, Germany, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS

The Ducks’ season-ending three-game winning streak was their longest since they won four consecutive Dec. 9-17. … They recorded an NHL-leading 23 points (11-5-1) and scored 57 goals, fourth-most in the league, in their final 17 games. … Their 35 wins were their fewest in a full 82-game season since 2011-12, the last time they missed the playoffs. …

All-Star goalie John Gibson went 8-1-0 with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage in his final nine starts of the season. Gibson was 26-22-8 overall with a 2.84 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage… Jakob Silfverberg scored eight goals and 19 points in his final 17 games and had a team-leading 24 goals overall, a career high.

MINOR ROSTER MOVES

The Ducks re-assigned Jones, fellow forward Sam Steel and defenseman Jacob Larsson to San Diego. The Gulls, third in the Pacific Division, have three regular-season games remaining, including their home finale Wednesday against the second-place San Jose Barracuda.

Defenseman Brendan Guhle also was expected to be sent to San Diego for the final regular-season games plus the playoffs, but he suffered an unspecified upper-body injury Friday against the Kings. He had been sidelined by a strained oblique for 14 games before returning to the lineup.

Right wing Troy Terry and defenseman Jaycob Megna also are likely to be re-assigned to the Gulls in the coming days. Terry has a broken leg and is expected to be sidelined between eight and 12 weeks. He could join the Gulls if they make a deep playoff run.

MINOR MOVES (PART 2)

Hunter Drew, a defenseman who was the Ducks’ sixth-round draft pick in 2018, has signed an amateur tryout with the Gulls. Drew set career highs with 16 goals, 34 assists and 50 points in 61 games this season with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.

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